Conventionally, there have been known high-beam variable headlamp systems (or Adaptive Driving Beam Systems) which, for improving safety during nighttime driving, illuminate portions other than forward vehicles (including preceding vehicles and oncoming vehicles) with a high beam, thereby securing the forward field of vision in a wide range.
Specifically, a high-beam variable headlamp system is a system which: detects the position of a forward vehicle by image-processing information from an in-vehicle camera; uses a light distribution pattern called “intermediate high beam” which shades a portion of an illumination range while illuminating the other portions with the high beam; and makes the shaded portion track the forward vehicle, thereby securing the forward field of vision of the own vehicle in a wide range and making it easy to find a pedestrian without causing glare to the forward vehicle.
Moreover, in Patent Document 1, there is disclosed: shading a portion of an illumination range by a shade mechanism provided in a headlamp; and switching the light distribution pattern of the headlamp automatically to a low beam in curves regardless of the presence or absence of a forward vehicle.